PHOENIX — The disturbing chats you saw in the video player above are real. They’re conversations between an adult man and a 14-year-old girl … at least, who they think is a 14-year-old girl.
But in reality, the men are talking to Pinal County Detective Randall Snyder.
“It was as simple as logging into a kids chatroom,” Snyder said. “And within about five minutes, having individuals ranging from about 30 to 60 years of age asking if I’d like to get on cam, what my sexual history was, if I’d be interested in watching them masturbate.”
The names in the chats have been blurred out because they are still under investigation.
“These guys are online for one reason and one reason only, and that’s to find a kid that they can sexually exploit and they can obtain their gratification from as quickly as possible,” Snyder said.
Detective Snyder has been investigating crimes against children for years, and he says the problem of predators preying on children only seems to be getting worse.
“We’re not looking for the white panel van and the guy offering candy so much anymore. We’re looking for the guy who says he’s a friend of theirs from Facebook,” he said.
Nowadays, every child has access to phones, iPads and computers, and most of them know how to use those devices better than their parents.
Every social media app, video game and chatroom serves as a hunting ground for cyber predators.
“The reality is, any social media app that has kids on it is a target,” Snyder said. “They're gonna learn the lingo, they're gonna learn the game, they're gonna learn the application so they can use that platform to go after these kids.”
And the victims are getting younger.
“Average child that’s being exploited online has dropped down to as low as 11,” Snyder said.
A typical day for Detective Snyder, who is a parent himself, involves logging into all of these apps and posting using his online persona.
"I'll do what any other kid does,” he said. “I'll go on there and say, ‘Hi.’ I've had some cases where I've posted a message that was as innocuous as, ‘I'm bored.’”
Then, he waits.
“I’ve had conversations that took days before … I’ve had some conversations that literally the second line was, ‘Hey, would you like to do this, that or the other?’”
Miles Valencia, 31, of Chandler, is one of many investigators say moved quickly.
“Fairly innocent post was put out there, didn’t have any sexual undertones, just a post,” Snyder said.
Police say Valencia took steps to meet in person.
"Including his drive time from Chandler, was I want to say right at 60 minutes 90 minutes, something like that, from the time the post went up from the time that we had him in custody. It's disturbingly fast,” Snyder said.
The scope of the problem is overwhelming.
“There’s people out there like him that are out there all the time. Last week alone the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received over 340,000 tips,” Snyder said.
Snyder says parents can prevent their children from becoming the next victim.
“Sticking their head in the sand or saying, ‘It’s not going to happen to my kid,’ that’s not the way to do it,” he said.
Here are some steps you can take to protect your children online:
- Monitor their online activity
- Check your child’s social media accounts, not just the ones they want you to see
- Have an open conversation and explain to your kids if they haven’t met a person face-to-face, they are not your friend.
Here's a list of apps parents can use to keep track of their children's online activity.